Another bucket list item was to ride the length of 90 Mile Beach. For this trip we teamed up with Tim and Beate again plus Jorg and Jutta, alias the German Bakers. The first day saw us have an uneventful ride to Whangarei where we spent a very pleasant evening with Jorg and Jutta. We were well wined and dined.
Tim and Beate arrived about 10 the next morning and with Tim and Jorg as tour leaders we set off on a very scenic back road trip to catch the Rawene ferry.
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| Regroup and check the map |
About 5kms before Rawene was a 30kph section of road works. Like 99% of motorists we ignored the sign and hit it about 50-60kph and wouldn't you know it, it was that 1 in 100 road works that they actually got the speed limit right and we all had an exciting few seconds when we hit the humps and hollows. We had a few laughs about it while waiting for the ferry.
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| All aboard the ferry |
Off the ferry and a sharp left turn and we are on our way to Mitimiti. What a gorgeous spot to camp. We were lucky enough to see some wild horses enjoying the beach. I'm sure if we had a camper we would be re visiting this spot.
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| Beautiful Mitimiti Beach |
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| Marty and I |
Next stop is down a no exit road to the Te Karaka wharf. No one here but us and the "Terns".
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| Te Karaka Wharf |
Mid afternoon so we push onto our destination. Ahipara Campground. We had a couple of cabins that were joined by a covered deck. Great setup.
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| Our trusty steads |
We took a walk down to the beach to get a glimpse of the next days highway. Tide was out so we dug up a few pipis and took them back to cook up as a pre dinner snack. Yummy.
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| Marty digging for pipis |
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| You had to be quick or you missed out |
Went to the local fish and chip shop for tea.
We were on the bikes nice and early and headed down to the beach. The first challenge was a short stretch of soft sand to navigate then some exposed rocks to pick a path through. My choice wasn't the best one and I had a couple of exciting moments before exiting them. Plain sailing after that all the way to "The Bluff". This is a small rocky outcrop about 3/4 of the way up the beach. Marty and I spent a week here in our camper. The fishing was great. We stopped here to stretch our legs, clean the salt off our visors and have a drink.
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| The Bluff |
It was here the first of the tour buses went past. I think we counted 12 in all. We had to do over 120kph to pass them. They don't muck around. The buses all stop at Te Paki Stream as that is the exit point from the beach. We proved to be quite a tourist attraction as we rode passed.
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| Marty poses for the tourists |
A few minutes later and we had reached the end of the beach. We lined the bikes up for the photo shoot
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| The End of the Road so to speak |
then climbed the ladder to the lookout point which also happens to be a part of the NZ walkway trail.
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| Tima and Beate climb the stairs |
The views were spectacular.
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| We all made it to the top |
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| Looking back from whence we came |
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| Looking to west |
Back on the bikes and head back to Te Paki Stream which proved a little harder to find on the downward leg. I was kind of dreading this part of the ride as I imagined a stream with water and rocks and the thought of riding a km or so was rather daunting, but hello it was a sandy bottom stream. No problem! Jurg shot up ahead so he could get some footage of us riding up the stream. He parked his bike took a few steps away from it and then heard a big "thud" and turned to see his bike lying on his side and the contents of his top box strewn across the soft sand. Jutta was helping him get things back in order by the time we arrived.
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| Jutta finishes repacking the top box |
She got on her bike but it had sunk in the sand so much that once on the bike she couldn't get it upright so Marty parked his bike and got off to help. Almost at Jutta's bike and Tim yells to him that his bike is about to topple over, so Beate gets off her bike to save Marty's bike and her bike starts to fall as well. Luckily Jutta was pulled upright and Marty and Beate made it to their bikes before they hit the ground. Crisis over and we continue up the stream and finish the beach adventure. We parked up at the end of the stream, had a yak with a local guy who was selling boogie board rides down the sand dunes. I talked a car load of foreign tourists into having a go. Not sure if they would have thanked me or not as they would have baked their brains out walking to the top of the tune. Meanwhile Jorg had hijacked Jutta's bike and done another lap of the stream. He had a ball.
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| The last bend in the creek before dry land |
Once Jorg had finished playing in the stream we headed off to find somewhere to get some lunch. That place was Houhora.. Great hamburger washed down by a beer - actually a milkshake but beer sounded better.
Bodies refuelled we made our way down SH 1, making a detour down Paua Road to check out Parengarenga Harbour. It is also where the worlds purest silica sand deposits can be found. It is a very pretty harbour. Another spot to visit when we get another camper.
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| The Silica sands |
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| The team check out the local fishermen |
We stopped at the supermarket in Kaitaia to get essential supplies as prices in Ahipara are off the richter.
Back at camp we unloaded had a cool drink then headed out to try and find the old gum diggers fields. Tim lead the way, up a narrow twisty gravel road that took us high up into the hills above Ahipara. We came to a halt when we reached a sign that said "Private Property, Trespassers Prosecuted". Well some of us stopped. Beate carried on in the mistaken belief that she was following Tim. He had in fact gone up to the owners house to see if we could have a look around. He was a local Maori whose Grandfather was the store owner of the very large settlement that used to be up there. He is immensely proud of his heritage and was more than happy to tell us all about the history of the area. He then took us on a tour of the old gum fields. It was really interesting.
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| With our guide "Rangi" |
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| One of the many trenches |
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| The old Gumfields |
Tim had to go in search of Beate and they eventually joined us in the gum fields. It was interesting to see that the gum fields seem to be in their own little micro climate and we saw many amazing plants that we hadn't expected to see.
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| One of the strange plants |
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| And Another |
Viewing the old dam structures and having their operation explained was really interesting. Those gum diggers were a hardy bunch that's for sure. After the tour we were all invited back to his house for a cuppa. After giving him some Koha we headed back down the hill to the camp.
We then headed to the beach. Jorg and I to have a swim. It was gorgeous. The others collected pipis. This time we had a bucket so were able to get a good feed.
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| You can't beat fresh pippis |
Tea came with the arrival of friends Peter and Sue in their van. We had quite a feast that night, a few ales and lots of friendly banter.
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| Joerg gets treatment for his back - Sue can't bare to watch |
The weather report wasn't so good in the morning so after breakfast Marty and I said our farewells and headed for home. We stopped in Kawakawa to visit and elderly cousin of mine but deteriorating weather cut that short in the hope we would stay in front of the rain.
We arrived home just after 4pm, wet but not soaked. Another 1424kms of fun travelled.
